Should We Tax the Rich?

START THE OUT OF OFFICE SERIES: https://youtu.be/60Ci2NuLb5I SUPPORT MY CHANNEL: Where I invest my stocks and ETF's: https://bit.ly/bestinvestingapp SUBSTACK ARTICLE: https://open.substack.com/pub/stephenantonioni/p/taxing-the-rich-wont-work-but-well?r=2da6mw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true INQUIRIES AND SPONSORSHIPS: steveantonioni@gmail.com MONEY RAISED ESTIMATE: Option 1 would be to tax wealth aggressively using Elizabeth Warren’s proposal as a base. https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/ultra-millionaire-tax Warren’s vanilla proposal would raise about $500B/yr in today’s dollars based on… Billionaire Portion: Total = 0.02 × (W − $50M×N) + 0.04 × (W − $1B×N) where W is aggregate billionaire wealth and N is the count. Plugging W = $6.8T, N = 902: 2% part: 0.02 × (6.8T − 902×$50M) = $135B extra 4% on over $1B: 0.04 × (6.8T − 902×$1B) = $236B Billionaires subtotal = $371B/yr Above $50M Portion U.S. UHNW (over $30M): Global wealth for over $30M is ~$49T (2023). The U.S. hosts ~35–40% of UHNW people/wealth so ~$17–$20T in the U.S. for over $30M per Altrata U.S. billionaires’ slice (already counted): ~$6.6–$6.8T. Subtracting that from the over $30M pool implies ~$10–$13T in the $30M–$1B tier per Forbes We only tax the portion over $50M, not over $30M. A reasonable middle-of-the-road assumption (consistent with Altrata’s observation that wealth is split broadly between $30–$100M and $100M–$1B bands, with a median near ~$51M) is that roughly half to two-thirds of that $30M–$1B pool sits above $50M once you strip out the $30–$50M segment. Excess wealth above $50M in the $50M–$1B group ≈ $6–$8T 2% × ($6–$8T) ≈ $120–$160B/yr So, we have about $500B total of raw tax. But then we have to adjust for avoidance. Most studies and models land around a haircut of around 40% per Penn-Wharton model. If we apply that we end up with about $300B/yr. If you were to instead pursue ending the step up in basis of capital gains upon dying, change inheritance taxes, or raise income taxes to post WWII levels, it would yield less than or about the same as this. 00:00 My Claims 00:41 Why Taxing the Rich Will Not Solve Inequality 07:54 I Want to Reduce Inequality 09:40 Why We Are Going to Tax the Rich Anyways (and Why this is Bad) 15:52 This is a Much Better Solution 24:16 Techno-Monarchy